Golden Globes: Recapping the 2021 Ceremony's Best and Worst Moments

The Golden Globes is considered the most fun of all the shows: the Oscars’ naughty step-cousin, where celebrities get drunk and if we’re lucky, the wheels fall off by the end. Instead, this year’s mostly at-home edition had the opposite effect, as many a winner sat at their desk.

Read my recaps here and here.

And also, I talk to the Golden Globes producers to get the full behind-the-scenes info on details like how the bicoastal setup worked, those Zoom category rooms and Catherine O'Hara's acceptance speech joke here.

Golden Globes: Final TV Comedy and Drama Predictions

My Variety colleague Danielle Turchiano and I give our final analysis of this year's Golden Globe TV categories. Above, the drama race, and below, comedy.

Mike on TV: How I Handle Awards Season

I recently spoke via Skype with Spectrum News 1's Bianca Rae on Feb. 3, 2021, to discuss Golden Globe Awards nominations, and covering this year's awards season in general.

KCRW's THE SPIN-OFF: Emmy Campaign Season, Binge TV Comes to the Networks , and More

On the latest edition of KCRW's The Spin-Off, Joe and I sit down with Variety's Debra Birnbaum (my former TV Guide Magazine boss!) to talk about TV awards season and more:

It's officially June, which means this year's TV season is over, the upfronts are done and summer programming is upon us. Now that we know which new shows will make it to air this fall, it's time to crank up those Emmy campaigns. In reality, Emmy campaigning has been underway for months already. If that notion seems ridiculous to you -- you're not alone. We talk about the role Emmys and other awards shows play within the TV ecosystem and look at where we are now, compared to years past.

Meanwhile, NBC is the first of the broadcast networks to get into the binging game with Aquarius, the new David Duchovny drama. Wise move or...what were they thinking?

With so much content all available at once, there have been several calls for a return to the days of just releasing one new episode a week, instead of an all at once show dump. Even Netflix, the king of the binge-style delivery, may test out a more traditional model with some upcoming shows.

Listen below!

MIKE ON TV: Discussing Golden Globe Nominees on "Access Hollywood Live"

I was up early on Thursday chatting up "Access Hollywood Live" hosts Billy Bush and Kit Hoover about this year's Golden Globes TV nominations. Watch as I chastise them for not watching "Orphan Black" -- and I let Billy Bush know I'm comfortable enough with my marriage to watch Showtime's "The Affair" with Maria!

Here I am talking about the drama nominees and snubs:



And here I am chatting about comedy -- or the lack thereof.

According to Their TV Ads, "August Osage County" and "Philomena" Are Already Golden Globe Winners

Correct me if I'm wrong, but have any of you seen this in a film marketing campaign before? In TV spots for its movies "August: Osage County" and "Philomena," The Weinstein Company is touting the movies as Golden Globe "winners."



But wait, the Golden Globes aren't until January 14. How are the movies already "winners"?



Look closer. They "won" a nomination. So did Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep and Judi Dench. What the what? How is securing a nomination suddenly a "win"?





I've written plenty of award nomination stories before. Yeah, we have to use a lot of verbs to describe being nominated. You can "score," "earn," "land," "grab," "secure," and "take" a nomination -- and there are many, many other ways to describe it too. Perhaps I've even used "won a nomination," although I don't recall. But to put "WINNER" in big letters in an ad, next to pics of the Globes trophy, when the movies and stars haven't technically won anything yet? Unusual move. But I don't normally follow the feature film award races, so I can't tell you if this is common in that world. Either way, it's... an interesting strategy.

Backstage at the Primetime Emmys

Another year covering the Emmys, and this year I was once again stationed backstage to watch the show and also keep an eye on winners as they headed into the press room. A few dull winners, a few surprise choices, and a good night for Showtime's "Homeland" -- as well as for 20th Century Fox TV, the studio behind both "Homeland" and "Modern Family." If you're not sick of Emmy coverage yet, I talked to Jimmy Kimmel's head writers to get the backstory on this year's Emmy gags; read about it here. Below, a few shots from this year's awards.


Amazing Race's Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri outside Nokia, hoping for their 9th Emmy.


Bitter rivals, right next to each other: ET and Access Hollywood press booths backstage.


Guillermo from "Jimmy Kimmel Live," backstage at the Emmys.


Supporting actor winner Eric Stonestreet kicks off "Modern Family's" dominant night at the Emmys.


Supporting actress Emmy winner Julie Bowen.


Comedy actress winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus.


Another win for "The Amazing Race"!


Louis C.K. took home two Emmys on Sunday night.


Sofia Vergara and the cast and producers of "Modern Family."


Emmy winner Claire Danes speaks as she's flanked by the cast and producers of "Homeland."


Winners Tom Berenger and Kevin Costner ("Hatfields and McCoys") back stage.


John Legend performs at Showtime's Saturday night party.

Toddlers, Vanilla Ice and Johnny Depp at the MTV Movie Awards

Sunday night's MTV Movie Awards offered plenty of bizarre moments -- Mark Wahlberg stopping the show when someone in the audience yelled a derogatory remark at his co-presenter, Mila Kunis, for example -- and it's always awesome to see the Black Keys live, made surreal by Johnny Depp on guitar and both Steven Tyler and Joe Perry ducking out of the way to let them play.

But some of the real strange stuff was in the audience, which Maria and I were able to attend on Sunday night. There was the "Toddlers and Tiaras" child, dressed sadly in full make up and blue taffeta dress -- and her stage mom commanding her to perform for complete strangers. There was Vanilla Ice standing in the aisle, taking out his camera phone and snapping a self portrait in front of the stage. (I thought Vanilla was banned from MTV after this moment when he trashed a studio.)

Also: The audience sat for most of the night, not feeling the Wiz Khalifa, for example. Yet it gave a standing ovation to Christopher Nolan when he stepped on stage to promote "The Dark Knight Returns." This MTV Movie Awards audience must be *hard core* Batman fans.

Russell Brand didn't do much heavy lifting as host -- a few racy jokes at the start, but that was about the last we saw of him. I'd have to say the highlight was Johnny Depp's appearance with the Black Keys -- followed by Kristen Stewart trying, awkwardly, to be funny.

Some pics snapped at the event:



Russell Brand opens the show, works in multiple Michael Fassbender penis references.



fun. performs their springtime anthem "We Are Young" with Janelle Monae.



Wiz Khalifa with the advice of the night: "Work Hard. Play Hard." Wiz, you might just have a future as a copywriter for Nike.



Johnny Depp rocks with the Black Keys. Too bad he didn't do this in full "Dark Shadows" costume.



"The Dark Knight" stars on stage to premiere a new trailer for the film -- which looks awesome, and as a bonus, it looks like a scene was shot in downtown Los Angeles' Union Station!



"Spider-Man" stars hit the stage too, to lots and lots of laser beams.

MIKE ON TV: Can Awards Shows Ever Be Good?

I recently sat down with my old Variety boss, Peter Bart, for his new KNBC/Encore show "Movie Talk with Peter Bart." This being awards season, we talked about how dreadful most awards shows still are, and whether or not there's any hope for the genre. (They don't appear to have any clips online, so yes, I recorded this on a Flip camera straight off my TV. Don't judge!)

Grammy Recap: Janelle Monae, The Roots and Yes, Mick Jagger, Own the Night

Maria and I were able to attend last night's Grammy ceremony, and I don't know how it played at home (live music is tough to translate on the small screen), but there were some pretty great performances at the show. The Janelle Monae/B.o.B./Bruno Mars mashup and the acoustic corner led by Mumford & Sons and the Avett Bros. (joined by Bob Dylan) were my favorites, while Maria enjoyed Mick Jagger's tribute to Solomon Burke. And Rihanna's performance with Eminem was standout.

Afterward, we were treated to the Roots, Philly's legendary hardworking crew who put on quite a show for the industry crowd.


The Roots' Black Thought on the mic at the Grammys afterparty.

A few more thoughts, as sent via Twitter last night:

-- "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum beats out some great tracks for record of the year. Sorry, but it's not the best record of the year by a long shot.

--What will it take to make you smile, Eminem?

-- Wow, I guess the "people we've heard of" vote was split between Bieber, Florence, Drake and Mumford. (At least winner Esperanza Spalding put the beat down on Mr. Bieber.)

--So did Gaga grab that ponytail at a Madonna "Blonde Ambition" yard sale?

--This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. This is Lady Gaga wearing your brain while walking the Grammys red carpet.

And yes, here's that KCBS clip of reporter Serene Branson that is flying virally around the world right now. Cue autotune remix in 3, 2...



UPDATE: Here's the KCBS statement on Branson's condition: "Serene Branson was examined by paramedics on scene immediately after her broadcast. Her vital signs were normal. She was not hospitalized. As a precautionary measure, a colleague gave her a ride home and she says that she is feeling fine this morning."

Big Winner From the VMAs: The Set Designer and Graphics Guru

The critics weren't kind to Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards -- especially host Chelsea Handler's performance. I say she was simply miscast for the role; her audience is not the MTV audience.

It didn't help that the awards show didn't pull off a defining pop culture moment the way it did last year, when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech. (I still say Kanye was right... but that's just me, I guess.)

The reviews didn't matter; ratings were huge. And if there's a rave to be had from Sunday's show, it's for the amazing set -- turning the sterile Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live into something cool and contemporary -- and the graphics package from the show, which looked sharp.

Also, the show's cut away to a sundown performance by Linkin Park at the Griffith Observatory nicely highlighted that venue, the L.A. skyline at dusk and the orange horizon.

Some shots from inside the Nokia:

MTV Video Music Awards: "Dude, They're Not Letting In The Princes of Malibu!"

We're notoriously late for events -- parents, you know how tough it is to get ready, wait for the baby sitter and prep the kid for the fact that mommy and daddy are going out -- without him.

That's why we got to the Paramount lot at 5:30 on Sunday, right when doors closed to the sound stage where the MTV Video Music Awards were being held. We found some amazing street parking on Melrose and Bronson too -- well, amazing until we realized the entrance was on Gower, and we'd have to hike a few blocks over.

That brought us to 6 p.m., right when the show was starting. No way they were going to let us in at that point -- and that's how we ended up in a cramped, makeshift alley way with other latecomers. As we shuttled back and forth between doors, we stumbled across virtually everyone: John Legend. Lil Wayne. And yes, the Jonas Brothers. Really.



Waiting along side us to get in: "The Hills" stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag (above, with our oh-so-high-res camera phone). Yep, Speidi had about as much luck as we did in getting inside, at least early on: None. Ditto Pratt's pal Brody Jenner (hence the "Princes of Malibu" cracks we kept hearing).



And ditto Seth Green.

We were promised an entrance after the first commercial break -- but that came and went. In the meantime, the LAPD fire marshal started acting tough -- demanding that the alley way next to the studio door be emptied, or else the entire production would be shut down. Whoa.

Guess all of us crowding by the door was freaking him out. Half an hour, then an hour passed, as we stood by the door, waiting for entrance. In the meantime, Lindsay Lohan and gal pal Samantha Ronson came up -- and the security guards began screaming for four people to exit the sound stage. (See, to allow Linds and Sam in, they'd have to even out the number inside the studio by yanking people out.) Sure enough, four people lost their inside privileges so that L&S could get inside. Also making their way in: Paramore. ("MAKE WAY FOR PARAMORE!" -- one of the night's rallying cries.)



Meanwhile, we finally decided to give up on the inside and head to the after party, where hundreds of people were aleady gathered. Best decision of the night. Drinks were flowing, food was being served, and people we knew were already there. The show was playing on monitors, but we mostly waited to see Kanye West perform the closing number outside next to the party. He did... and then... well, what was that? Anticlimactic, no?

Afterward, we headed to In Touch Weekly's post-VMA party at the Bar Marmont. As the Veronicas performed upstairs, we found a small, non-roped off booth next to the bar. Sipping our ginger-flavored cocktail, in walked -- once again! -- Samantha and Lindsay, in a VIP area next to the DJ. Later, Pauly Shore climbed into the booth next to us. It was a made-for-TMZ kinda night.